sports DULUTH — Jordan Reetz and his Minnesota-Duluth teammates made the Bemidji State men’s basketball team’s path to a potential NCAA tournament at-large bid much more difficult with a 81-65 upset win Friday at Romano Gym.
Reetz poured in 35 points, including five three-pointers to lead the Bulldogs...
Bemidji, 56619

Bemidji Minnesota P.O. Box 455 56619

2014-02-21 22:56:35

DULUTH — Jordan Reetz and his Minnesota-Duluth teammates made the Bemidji State men’s basketball team’s path to a potential NCAA tournament at-large bid much more difficult with a 81-65 upset win Friday at Romano Gym.

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Reetz poured in 35 points, including five three-pointers to lead the Bulldogs (11-14, 9-12 NSIC) to victory.

The Beavers (18-7, 15-6 NSIC) were less were just 3-of-19 from downtown.

Reetz connected on three three-pointers in the first five minutes to vault UMD to an early 11-6 lead.

BSU seniors Michael Farrington and Maxie Rosenbloom each delivered a pair of baskets to fuel a 9-0 run that gave the Beavers a 15-11 lead with 11:04 remaining in the first half.

BSU led by as much as six in the first half, at 22-16, but UMD answered to regain the lead in the final minute of the half.

A buzzer-beating three-pointer from junior Brock Lutes sent the Beavers to the locker room with a 30-29 lead.

The two teams traded baskets and single-possession leads throughout the opening eight minutes of the second half, and the score was knotted at 47-47 with 11:25 left in the game.

Reece Zoelle and Peter Crawford broke the tie by scoring the next five points to give UMD a 52-47 lead it would not let go of.

Baskets from Reetz and Charles Benson helped Duluth extend its lead to three possessions for the first time of the night at 58-51 with 8:02 remaining in the game.

The Beavers would get within five points on two separate occasions, but the Bulldogs pushed the lead to double digits in the final minutes and held on to seal the win.

Zoelle added 20 points and nine rebounds for UMD. His 8-of-13 shooting and Reetz’s 14-of-21 performance guided the team to shoot 55.6 percent from the floor.

Rosenbloom led the way for the Beavers with 18 points and eight rebounds on 9-of-12 shooting, while Lutes added 16 points and Zach Noreen tallied 15 points.

Duluth outscored BSU 52-35 in the second half.

BSU will shift its focus to tonight when it plays at St. Cloud, where it can clinch sole possession of the NSIC North Division crown with a win. A loss could force a tie between BSU, SCSU and MSU Moorhead.